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If there is a genre that has emotions like sadness, happiness and nostalgia, it is the French chanson. Precisely this sentiment Tess Merlot knows how to shape with gutsy own material in the language of love. For years, the singer has been one of the leading Francophone folksong artists in the Netherlands. After debut album Laissez-moi, her star rose higher and higher. For instance, her single La Haye became the most-played song on Radio Tour De France, the singer performed on several television programmes, Tess made radio and podcasts about French music and there was a performance in a sold-out Grote Zaal of PAARD together with the Residentie Orkest during Symphonic Junction. On 1 March 2024 at 21:00, Tess and her band will perform at The September in honour of the release of new album Chante La Vie.
On the new album Chante La Vie, the singer gets very close to her personal feelings. Changes in her personal life provided a new perspective on the content of Tess’ songs. For instance, it reflects on the disappearance of the parental home, losing a loved one and the transience of friendships. On the other hand, it also looks at the better things of getting older, such as building a long-term love.
Chante La Vie‘s first singles already provided a good start to Tess’ new work. For instance, Ma maison / Our house received frequent airplay on NPO Radio 2 and 5, and was the youngest single ever to be included in Radio West’s Eeuwige Roem list. Last summer, Rien à perdre became the Radio Tour de France hit on NPO Radio 1 and was on NPO Radio 5’s playlist for weeks. With the duet Je n’ai plus 20 ans, Tess, together with Ben Cramer, was a guest on the likes of Tijd voor Max and Shownieuws in January. The absolute highlight will be in October 2024, when the full band will perform at the Koninklijke Schouwburg with a string quartet. But first the albumrelease in September.